Closing device for refrigerator-car doors.



Patented sept. 10,1912.

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T. H. GARLAND. CLOSING ADEVICE Fon REFRIGBRATOB GAR Doons.

APPLICATION .FILED JULY 10,1911.

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1. H. GARLAND. CLOSING DEVICE FOR RBFRIGERATOR. CAR DOORS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 10,1911.

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Patented Sept. 10, 1912.

J. meef 'l www" THOMAS H- GARLAND, 0F @we 1m11.191s

' CLOSING DEVICE For. aumentaron-can nomas.

To all- 'whom it'may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS H. GARLAND, a citizen ofthe United States,residing at Chicago, county of Cook, State of Illinois, have inventedcertainv new and useful Improvements in Closing" Devices forRefrigerator-Car Doors, of which the follow.

ing is a specification.

The present invention relates to a closing device for doors, and moreparticularly re-v frigeratorcar doors.

I t is the practice, in the construction ot refrigerator cars,to'carefully pad the edges of the doors, in order to prevent the escapeof cold air an d entry of warm and thus reduction in the efficiency ofthe,y car. It is thus highly important to have a close fit between thecar door and its framefwhenever the door is closed. But in practice, thepadding becomes .damp and often torn, so that it becomes necessary touse-considerable force in order to effect a proper. closure.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide aclosingfdevice which. will produce an eiectlveand tight closure,

even-though. the doors Inav bind considerably on account of thecondition of the ypadding on their edges, or' frother reasons.

In carrying out my invention, I provide two levers, pivoted,`respectively, upon theupper and lower portions of the doorV and adaptedto overlap at their inner ends Wherel they may be secured in lockingposition, and

coperating at'their outer ends with cambearing surfaces upon theadiacent portions of the door and its frame, to bring about an effectiveclosure whenever the levers are moved to locking position--and this eventhough' the door be some 'distance from being closed at the time thelevers are brought into play. I also provide for the ready operation ofthe levers fromdiiferent points so as to meet different conditions ofloading and unloading, and also arrange the lower lever which, when inlocking position, extends below the lower limits of the door, so thatitvwill lie above lsuch lower limit when in open, or unlocking, positionand thereby allow the door to bey readilvopened at loading andunloadingI platforms. p These and ot. e

r features of my invention, and their accompanying advantages, will bebest understood. upon consideration of the following detaileddescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings. and thedicated by the line-2;2 of Fig. l'gFig. 3

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Sept. 10, I Application ledJuly 10, 1911; Serial No. 637,814. i

scope of the invention will be particularly. pointed out in the appendedclaims.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a front elevation of a portion ofa'refrigerator car having a door provided with 'a closingA deviceconstructed 1n accordancefwith my invention; Fig. 2 illustrates 'theretaining means associated with the upper edge of the car door, thesection being. taken on a plane in# illustrates they retaining meansassociated with the lower-edge of the car door, the

sectionbeing taken on a plane indicated by the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; Figi4 is a perspeef tive view of. the door and its closing device, a portionof the door being shown in 'sec tion: Fig. 5 is a perspective view` ofthe bearing plate associated with the lower leverv of the device; Fig. 6is a perspective view ofV the'guard associated with` the upper lever;Fig. 7 is a perspective view illustrating a portion of the lower leverand its'associated wedge block; and Fig.'8 is a perspective view ofthfcam lug associated with the lower lever.

Throughout thesel views, like characters refer to like parts.

Referring' to the drawing in detail,10 designatesthe body of the carprovided Wit-h theusual doors 11 and 12', mounted upon the hinges 13 and14, respectively. The construction of the body of the car and the doorsis the usual construction and forms no part of mv invention. Asillustrated, the doors .are formed withI dead air spaces 15 and. forconvenience, I have termed the portion of the' car-wall, into, which thedoors fit. the door frame, although I have not` illustrated any specialframe construction. As illustrated, the en- 5' gaging portions of thedoors 11 and 12 are also beveled and provided withA the usual padding15l upon their engaging edges 'and the padding 15b upon their upper andlower edges, the latter being illustrated part-icu- .100

larly in Fig. 4 and the former in Fig. 3.

In applying my Ainvention to the car structure illustrated, I providethe lefthand door 11 with a handle 16, by which it may b'e opened door12 is also provided with a similar han dle 17. The closing device,constituting the invention, is mounted upon, and inv associap tion with,this latter door, and it. includes the upper lever or bar 18, the lowerlever or closed. The right-hand ,105

or bar 19, the upper bearing plate 20, the lower bearing plate 21, theupper lug 22, the lower lug 23, the upper guide 24, the lower guide 25,the upper wedge block 26, the lower wedge block 27, and the staple oreye-bolt 28. The lever 1S is pivoted near its upper end upon the upperportion of the door 12 by a pivot bolt 29. The lower lever is similarlypivoted by bolt Ito the lower portion of the door. The inner ends of thelevers have jointed ends 31, 32, which are provided with slottedopenings 33, 34, so that when the levers are in locking position, theeye-bolt 28 may pass through them and the levers be either locked orsealed. For convenience, in manipulating the upper lever, a hand-hold isprovided upon the lower extremity of the jointed end 31. The upper endof the lever 18 co-acts with the ridged bearing plate 20 and the cam lug22 to force the upper end of the door into closed position upon t-heoperation of the lever. This is brought about by constructing the plate20 with cam ridge 36, and the lug 22 with an overhanging cam-bearingface. As the lever 18 is moved toward its locking' position, the wedgeblock 26 engages the cam face on the lug 22 and the upper end of thelever 18 is thereby moved toward the body of the car. At the same time,the cam ridge 36 is engaged by the opposite side of the lever 18 andconse` quently the upper end of the'door is forced to its final closedposition. The action at the lower end of the lower lever 19 lis similar.Here the lug 23 is provided with a similar overhanging face whichcooperates with the wedge block 27, and the bearing plate 21 is providedwith a cam ridge 37 which 'cooperates with the opposite side of thelever. Thus the movement of the lever 19 to its locking positionsimilarly forces the lower portion of the door to its final closedposition, The lower leaf of lug 22 is countersunk or set into the frameso as not to interfere with the closing of the door. The same is true ofthe upper leaf of lug 23. The wedgeblocks 26 and 27 are given aninclination with reference to that of the cam faces upon the overhangingportion of the lugs 22 and 23, such that a good bearing is maintainedbetween the levers and the retaining lugs when the door is being closed.The guide 24 is secured at its ends to the plate 20 and incloses theupper end of the lever 18. Its function is to limit the opening movementvof the lever and to prevent its being bent out of shape in case anattempt should be made to close the door without holding the lever inopen position. In such case, the end of the lever would strike theoutside of the cam lug 22, but thestrain upon it would be taken up bythe guide 24. The guide 25, associated with the lever 19, performs asimilar function. It is secured at one end to one end of the plate 21and at its other end directly to the door. Its shape is somewhatdifferent than that of the guide 24 by reason of the fact that it isdesirable to be able to shift the lever 19 to a' about on a level withthe floor of the carV and consequently but slightly below the lower edgeof the car door. By reason of' this extended movement of the lower lever19, the camridge 37 upon the bearing plate 21 is also given a slightupward curvature, as clearly illustrated in Figs. 1, 4 and 5. In orderto cause the lever 19 to readily assume the dotted line position whenidle, I preferably arrange the parts so that when the lever 19 is movedout of engagement with the staple 28, its center of gravity will be tothe left of the pivot 30vso that the lever will assume the dotted lineposition of Fig. 1 under the force of gravity. This condition ofunstable equilibrium, ,when the lever is moved out of engagement withthe staple, may preferably be brought about by making the portion of thelever above the pivot greater in lweight than that below, as, forexample, by having it somewhat longer, as illustrated. A button 39,pivoted to the frame or sill of the car, constitutes an additional meansfor holding the left-hand door 11 closed. This may be used,-or not, asdesired, but, by its use, one door may be kept closed while the other isopen, or being opened. j

In operation, assuming that the doors are open and it is desired toclose them, the lefthand door-11 is first closed, or approximatelyclosed, and the right-hand door 12 is then closed upon it, the edgesbeing beveled, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 3. When in this position,although the right-hand door may be three or four inches from beingclosed, the movement of the levers from their dotted line po-sitions ofFig. 1 to their full line positions will cause the doors to be forcedshut so asto provide a tightl closure, the right-hand door', by itsoverlapping edge, forcing the left-hand door into its final closedposition. The overlapping jointed ends of the levers may then be slippedover the staple 28 and the doors sealed. In Opeliing the doors, thereverse operation is performed. The levers are moved to their dottedline positions and then the righthand door is pulled open, followed bythe opening of the left-hand door.

noaa-891 It will, of course, be understood that in carrying out myinvention, certain' alterations and modifications `may be made withoutdeparting from its spirit and sco-pe. It will also be apparent thatltlie'invention is applicable to a single door as well as to two doors,as illustrated. Likewise, cam-bearing faces on the door cooperating withflatbearing faces on the frame, or cam-bearing faces on the framecooperating with flatbearing faces on the door, .would accomplish thesame results as cam faces on both door and frame, as illustrated, exceptthat the latter construction has the advantagel of increasing the inwardmovement 'by the same sweep of the lever. I have, however, smught tocover all such alterations and modifications by the terms of theappended claims.

What l claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is 1. The combination with a door frame and a door hingedthereon, of vertically disposed locking levers pivoted to the upper andlower 'portions of the door respectively so as to move in planessubstantially parallel to the plane of said doo-r, means for holdingt-he inner ends of the 4levers in locking position, and means coperatingwith the outer ends of said levers and the adj aeent portions of saiddoor-and frame to close the door tightly against said frame upon themovement of said levers to locking position.

2. The combination with a door frame and a door hinged thereon, ofvertically disposed locking levers pivoted to the upper and lowerportions of the door respectively so as to move in planes substantiallyparallel to the plane of said door, means for holding the inner ends ofthe leversin locking position, cam-bearing faces at the upper and loweredges'of the door for engaging the inner sidesofsaid levers as they aremoved into locking position, and similar overhanging `cam-bearing faceson the adjacent portions of said frame for engaging the outer sides ofsaid levers as they are 'moved into locking position.

3. The combination with a door frame and a door hinged thereon, ofvertically disposed locking levers pivoted to the upper and lowerportions of the door respectively so as to movein planes substantiallyparallel tothe plane ofsaid door, means for holding the inner ends ofthe levers in locking position, cam-bearing faces at the upper and loweredges of the door for engaging the inner sides of said levers as theyare moved intol locking position, similar overhanging cam-bearing faceson the adjacent portions ofisaid frame for engaging the outer sides ofsaid levers as they are moved into locking position, and guides uponsaid door for engaging the outer ends of said levers.

4. The combination with a door `frame outer ends of said levers and theadjacent and a door hinged thereon, of vertically disposed lockingleverspivoted to the upper andv lower portions of the door respectivelyso` as to move in planes substantially parallel to the plane of saiddoor and having jointed inner ends adapted to overlap when said leversare in locking position, means cooperating with the outer ends ot' saidlevers and the adjacent portions of said door and frame to close thedoor tightly against said frame upon the movement of said levers tolocking position, and a staple secured to said door and adapted toextend through openings in the overlapping jointed ends of said leverswhereby the latter may be locked or sealed.

5. The combination with a door frame and a door hinged thereon, ofvertically disposed locking levers pivoted to the upper and lowerportions of the door respectively so as to move in planes substantiallyparallel to the plane of said door, means for holding the inner ends ofthe levers in locking position, means cooperating with the portions ofsaid door and trame to close the door tightly against said frame uponthe movement of said levers to locking position, a hand-hold at thelower end of said lower lever extending below the door when said leveris in locking position, and means for stopping the opening movement ofysaid lower lever when said hand-hold has moved above the lowermost edgeof said door.

`6. The combination with a vdoor frame and a door hinged thereon, ofyvertically disposed locking levers pivoted to the upper and lowerportions of thevdoor respectively so as to move in planes substantiallyparallel ,to the plane of said door, means for holding the inner ends ofthe levers in locking position, .cam-bearing`faces on the adjacentportions of said door and frame for engaging the outerI ends of` saidlevers to force the door tightly against its frame upon the movement ofsaid levers to lookin position, a ,hand-hold at the lower end o saidlowerl lever extending below the door when said lever is in lockingposition, and means for stopping the opening movement of said lever whensaid hand-hold has moved above the lowermost edge of said 7. Thecombination with a door frame and a door hinged thereon, vof alockinglever pivoted at an intermediate point in its length near one edge ofthe door and movable toa locking position in which one end extends overthe adjacent portion of said frame, a lug member secured to saidadjacent portion of the frame and havingan open-ended slot for thereception of said engi of said lever, said slot having-a bearing Yfacefor engagement with the outer side of said leven/,said bearing facebeing in- 130 clined inward toward the door frame from the open end ofthe slot, such face coperatingV with the lever to force the door shut asthe lever is being movedfrom open `to closed position, a bearing membersecured tothe edge of the door opposite said lugr member and having acam face inclined oppositely to the cam face on said lug member andoperating to engage lthe opposite side of the lever and means forsecuring the other end of the lever to thedoor to hold the lever inlocking position.

8. The combination with a door frame anda door hinged thereon, of alocking lever pivoted at an intermediate point in its length near oneedge of the door and movable to a looking posit-ion in which one endextends over the adjacent portionfof said frame, a Wedge membery uponthe outerl end of 4said lever, a lug member secured to said adjacentportion of the frame and having an open-ended slot for the reception ofsaid Wedge member and the end of the leverto which it is attached, saidslot having a bearing face for engagement with said wedge block, saidface being inclined inward. toward the door frame from the openJend ofthe slot, such face coperating with said wedge block and lever to forcethe door shut as the lever is being moved from open to closed position,a bearing member secured to the edge of the door opposite said lugmember and having a cam face inclined oppositely to the cam face on saidlug member and operating to engage the opposite side of the lever andmeans for securing the the opposite side of the-lever,

inner end of the lever to the door to hold the lever in lockingposition.

9. The combination with 'a door frame 'and a door hinged thereon, of alocking leextends over the adjacent portion of said frame, a lug membersecured to said adjacent portion of the frame and having an open-endedslot for the reception of said end of said lever, said slot having albearing face for engagement with the outer side of said lever, saidbearing face being inclined inward toward the door frame from the openend of the slot, such face coperating with the lever to force the doorshut as the lever is being moved from open to closed position, a bearingmember secured to the edge of the door opposite said lug member andhaving a cam face inclined Voppositely to the cam face on said lugmember and operating to engage a guide secured to said door andextending over said lever at a point adiecent to the said bear ingmember on said door and means for securing the other end of the lever tothe door to hold the lever in locking position.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 5th day of July,1911.

THOMAS H. GARLAND.

Witnesses:

L. M. ANDREW, D. J. N oRMoYLE.

